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Akwaeke Emezi
Author, Artist, Cultural Icon
Born: 1987
Nationality: Nigerian
Pronouns: they/them
Identities: Nonbinary, Trans, Igbo, Tamil
Overview
Akwaeke Emezi is an acclaimed Nigerian-born writer and artist known for their genre-defying novels and powerful voice in contemporary literature. Emezi’s work boldly centers trans, nonbinary, and Indigenous identities, blending autobiography, speculative fiction, and Igbo cosmology. They are among the first nonbinary authors to achieve major milestones in the literary world, including being longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction.
Early Life and Education
Emezi was born in Umuahia, Nigeria, to an Igbo father and a Tamil mother. Raised in Aba, they later moved to the United States for their education. They hold a degree from New York University and have spoken about the intersections of their cultural heritage and identity as central to their creative process.
Career and Impact
Emezi’s debut novel, Freshwater (2018), was met with international acclaim and introduced audiences to their unique narrative voice. The book, loosely based on Emezi’s own life, tells the story of a Nigerian woman with multiple selves, shaped by Igbo spiritual beliefs. It was named a New York Times Notable Book and was nominated for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2019. Emezi’s nomination sparked widespread discussion as they were the first openly nonbinary author considered for the prize.
Following Freshwater, they released a string of groundbreaking works including:
- Pet (2019), a young adult novel that was a finalist for the National Book Award and centers a Black trans girl in a dystopian utopia
- The Death of Vivek Oji (2020), a deeply emotional story about gender, grief, and self-discovery
- Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir (2021), an autobiographical work exploring transition, divinity, and artistic creation
- You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty (2022), a romance novel that broke genre barriers and was optioned for film adaptation by Amazon Studios
They are also a visual artist whose work includes performance and video art exploring embodiment, ritual, and otherworldliness.
Personal Life and Identity
Emezi identifies as nonbinary and trans and uses they/them pronouns. They publicly reject the colonial gender binary, drawing instead on Igbo ontologies and spiritual traditions. In interviews and essays, they speak about being an ogbanje, a spirit entity in Igbo belief that reincarnates and disrupts linear understandings of human identity.
They have undergone gender affirmation surgeries and have written extensively on the politics of medical transition, particularly for Black and nonbinary people.
Legacy
Akwaeke Emezi is a transformative figure in both African and global queer literature. Their work challenges literary norms, dismantles colonial gender constructs, and amplifies queer and trans stories rooted in non-Western cultural frameworks. By occupying space unapologetically as a Black trans spirit in the literary canon, they have expanded what it means to write, live, and imagine beyond borders.
Bibliography
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